doivent

Doivent is the third-person plural present indicative form of the French verb devoir, meaning to have to, must, or should. It is used with ils or elles subjects to express obligation, necessity, or duty in the present or near future.

Devoir is an irregular verb whose present tense forms include dois, dois, doit, devons, devez, duevent? Wait, careful: the correct modern forms are je dois, tu dois, il/elle doit, nous devons, vous devez, ils/elles doivent. Doivent specifically appears with ils/elles. The verb can also appear in compound tenses with a auxiliary verb meaning that someone is required to perform an action, for example, ils doivent partir, ils ont dû partir, or ils devront partir.

Usage and nuance: Doivent typically conveys external obligation, such as rules, duties, or expectations imposed by others or by circumstances. It contrasts with the more personal obligation implied by je dois or nous devons, and with should in the sense of recommendation, which is often expressed as ils devraient. The impersonal alternative il faut can express necessity without a stated subject.

Examples:

- Ils doivent partir avant midi. They have to leave before noon.

- Elles doivent rendre leurs projets demain. They must submit their projects tomorrow.

- Que doivent-ils faire pour obtenir l’information? What must they do to obtain the information?

Origin and related forms: Devoir derives from Latin debere and has cognates in several Romance languages. In addition to the present tense, devoir forms include various past and future tenses, as well as the conditional and subjunctive, used to discuss obligation, hypothesis, or doubt.